Technically speaking, in terms of application, this wok of art is in the medium of oil paint, on wood panel in the style of surrealism and was painted in 1934. This work aims to display or create a perceptible representation for the disembodied “ghost” of his own fears of sexuality, while at the same time the name of the painting resonates with the theme his own phobia regarding physical intimacy and the female body. The term “spectre”, itself, means a ghost or “something widely feared as a possible unpleasant or dangerous occurrence”. In terms of content and meaning, it seems quite obvious. The focal point in this painting is a terrifying figure, echoing the curves of a female form. The work “The Spectre of Sex Appeal” (shown bellow) features a realistic background, most likely influenced by the landscape of his childhood summer home in the town of Cadaques, Spain, and a small boy wearing a sailor’s suit in the bottom right corner. The relationship was far from a “normal” marriage, with Dalí purchasing a castle for Gala where she resided, but due to her fervent appetite for young men, he could only visit if she had given written permission. The couple famously hosted weekly orgies and parties, however more often than not, these events were merely a spectacle for Dalí to observe. Although later in life, despite his phobia, Dalí met (and eventually married) his true love and muse, Gala. This fear plagued the artist and effected not only his art but also impacted the romantic aspects of his personal life, and can be seen in paintings such as “The Spectre of Sex Appeal”, “The Great Masturbator”, “The Bleeding Rose” as well as many more artworks. The second factor that effected Dalí mentally and emotionally was the fear of the female body and sex, a phobia which began as a child after reading a book on venereal diseases, with frightening illustrations, which his father had placed on the piano in their home. This personality was almost a defense mechanism, to prove to the world that HE was the real Salvador. Although the artist was loved by his parents, he lived in the shadow of his late brother and so created an eccentric persona. Dalí refused to visit his brothers grave, fearing that it was actually himself who had died. His parents named the artist after his older brother, Salvador, who had passed away before his own birth, creating a childhood trauma that would last his lifetime. The traumatic event that instigated Dalí’s lifetime of physiological struggles actually took place before he was born. To understand the creative inspirations of Salvador Dalí, we first need to understand his upbringing and family life. Like many of us, Dalí had a few common phobias (bugs, germs, death), and a few not so common ones, too (female sexuality including all of the body parts associated with it, and sex in general).
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